Asian Games facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Asian Games

Abbreviation	Asiad
Motto	Ever Onward
First event	1951 Asian Games in New Delhi, India
Occur every	Four years
Last event	2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China
Next event	2026 Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan
Purpose	Multi-sport event for nations in Asia

The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a huge sports event held every four years. Athletes from all across Asia come together to compete. It's like the Olympic Games, but just for Asian countries!

The first Asian Games happened in New Delhi, India, in 1951. At first, the Asian Games Federation (AGF) ran the Games. But since 1982, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has been in charge. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) also recognizes these Games. They are the second-largest multi-sport event in the world, right after the Olympics!

Nine different countries have hosted the Asian Games so far. Forty-six countries have taken part. However, Israel stopped participating after 1974. The most recent Games were held in Hangzhou, China, from September 23 to October 8, 2023.

Since 2010, the city that hosts the Asian Games often also hosts the Asian Para Games. These Games are for athletes with disabilities. Unlike the Paralympic Games, where hosting both events is usually part of the deal, the Asian Para Games and Asian Games are separate. This means they could be held in different cities or countries in the future.

History of the Asian Games

How the Games Started

Before the Asian Games, there were the Far Eastern Championship Games. These started in 1913 in Manila and included countries like Japan, the Philippines, and China. Ten of these Games were held until 1934. However, the Games stopped because of a war between Japan and China.

After World War II, many Asian countries became independent. They wanted to show their strength and unity through sports, not war. At the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, people from China and the Philippines talked about bringing back the idea of a regional sports event.

Guru Dutt Sondhi, an Indian sports leader, thought a new competition would be a great way to show Asian unity. He suggested the idea of the Asian Games. In 1949, the Asian Athletic Federation was officially formed in New Delhi. New Delhi was chosen to host the very first Asian Games in 1950.

Challenges Over the Years

The first Asian Games opening ceremony in New Delhi.

The Games faced some tough times. In 1962, the host country, Indonesia, did not allow some countries to participate. This caused problems with international sports groups.

In 1970, South Korea planned to host the Games but couldn't because of money problems. Thailand stepped in and hosted the Games in Bangkok instead. This was also the first time the Games were shown on television around the world!

In 1974, the Games in Tehran welcomed new countries like China, North Korea, and Mongolia. Israel was also allowed to participate, even though some countries disagreed. Taiwan continued to take part under the name "Chinese Taipei."

Before the 1978 Games, Pakistan decided not to host because of financial issues. Once again, Thailand offered to host the Games in Bangkok. Some countries were not allowed to participate, which led to protests from sports organizations.

New Beginnings and Growth

Because of these challenges, the Asian Olympic Committees decided to change how the Games were run. In 1981, they created the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). The OCA took over organizing the Games, starting with the 1986 Games in Seoul, South Korea.

In 1990, the Games were held in Beijing, China. Taiwan was allowed to rejoin the Games as "Chinese Taipei." The 1994 Games in Hiroshima, Japan, were special because five new countries from Central Asia, which used to be part of the Soviet Union, joined for the first time. These were Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. This was also the first time the Games were held in a city that wasn't the country's capital.

The 1998 Games were held in Bangkok, Thailand, for the fourth time. This shows how important the city has been to the history of the Asian Games.

A medal from the 1974 Asian Games in Tehran.

Symbols of the Games

The Asian Games have special symbols that show their spirit. The motto is "Ever Onward," which means always moving forward. This motto was created by Guru Dutt Sondhi when the Asian Games Federation was formed in 1949.

The main symbol of the Asian Games is a bright red sun with 16 rays. In the middle of the sun is a white circle. This symbol represents the bright and warm spirit of the people of Asia.

Mascots

Since the 1982 Games in New Delhi, each Asian Games has had a mascot. These mascots are usually animals from the host country or figures that show the local culture. They help make each Games unique and memorable!

Who Participates?

All 45 countries and regions that are part of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) can send athletes to the Asian Games.

Some countries like Kazakhstan are in both Asia and Europe, but they compete in the Asian Games. Other countries like Turkey and Russia are also partly in Asia but compete in the European Games.

Historically, 46 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) have sent athletes. Israel has not participated since 1976. They are now part of the European Olympic Committees and compete in the European Games.

Places like Taiwan, Palestine, Hong Kong, and Macau also participate. Taiwan competes as "Chinese Taipei" because of its political status. Macau is allowed to compete in the Asian Games even though it's not recognized by the International Olympic Committee for the Olympic Games.

In 2007, the head of the OCA said that Australia could not join the Asian Games. He felt it would be unfair to the other countries in Oceania. However, Australia has participated in some Asian sports events and might send a small team to future Games.

Only seven countries have competed in every single Asian Games. These are India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Thailand.

List of Asian Games

Edition	Year	Host	Games dates / Opened by	Countries	Competitors	Sports	Events	Top-ranked team	Ref.
1	1951	New Delhi	4–11 March 1951 President Rajendra Prasad	11	489	6	57	Japan (JPN)
2	1954	Manila	1–9 May 1954 President Ramon Magsaysay	18	970	8	76
3	1958	Tokyo	24 May – 1 June 1958 Emperor Hirohito	16	1,820	13	97
4	1962	Jakarta	24 August – 4 September 1962 President Sukarno	12	1,460	13	88
5	1966	Bangkok	9–20 December 1966 King Bhumibol Adulyadej	16	1,945	14	143
6	1970	Bangkok	9–20 December 1970 King Bhumibol Adulyadej	18	2,400	13	135
7	1974	Tehran	1–16 September 1974 Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi	19	3,010	16	202
8	1978	Bangkok	9–20 December 1978 King Bhumibol Adulyadej		3,842	19	201
9	1982	New Delhi	19 November – 4 December 1982 President Zail Singh	23	3,411	21	147	China (CHN)
10	1986	Seoul	20 September – 2 October 1986 President Chun Doo-hwan	22	4,839	25	270
11	1990	Beijing	22 September – 7 October 1990 President Yang Shangkun	31	6,122	27	310
12	1994	Hiroshima	2–16 October 1994 Emperor Akihito	42	6,828	34	338
13	1998	Bangkok	6–20 December 1998 King Bhumibol Adulyadej	41	6,554	36	377
14	2002	Busan	29 September – 14 October 2002 President Kim Dae-jung	44	7,711	38	419
15	2006	Doha	1–15 December 2006 Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani	45	9,520	39	424
16	2010	Guangzhou	12–27 November 2010 Premier Wen Jiabao		9,704	42	476
17	2014	Incheon	19 September – 4 October 2014 President Park Geun-hye		9,501	37	439
18	2018	Jakarta and Palembang	18 August – 2 September 2018 President Joko Widodo		11,300	46	465
19	2022	Hangzhou	23 September – 8 October 2023 President Xi Jinping		11,935	40	481
20	2026	Aichi Prefecture	19 September – 4 October 2026 Emperor Naruhito (expected)	Future event
21	2030	Doha	Future event
22	2034	Riyadh

Participating Nations

All 45 countries and regions whose National Olympic Committees are recognized by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) can compete at the Asian Games.

Sports at the Games

The Asian Games usually feature around 24 sports and 260 events. The most recent Games in Hangzhou, China, had the largest number of events ever. There were 481 finals across 40 different sports!

In the past, host countries could choose many sports based on their local interests. This made the Games very big. However, to keep the event from getting too huge, the OCA decided to limit the number of sports to 40 starting from the 2018 Asian Games. This rule helps keep the Games similar to the Olympic program. Each region can also suggest one or two extra sports that are popular locally.

Key:      = Discontinued

Sport Disciplines

Medal Count

Out of the 46 National Olympic Committees that have participated, 43 have won at least one medal. Only three countries, Bhutan, Maldives, and Timor-Leste, are still waiting for their first medal.

Thirty-eight countries have won at least one gold medal. Only Japan and India have won medals at every single Asian Games! Japan and China are the only two countries that have finished first in the overall medal count.

In the 2022 Games, India became the fourth country to win over 100 medals in one edition, after Japan, China, and South Korea. China, Japan, and South Korea were the first three countries to win over 200 total medals in one Games, back in 1986. At the 2022 Games, China was the first country to win over 100 gold medals and over 300 or 400 total medals in a single event!

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	China	1,674	1,105	791	3,570
2	Japan	1,084	1,104	1,054	3,242
3	South Korea	787	722	916	2,425
4	Iran	192	202	217	611
5	India	183	239	357	779
6	Kazakhstan	165	180	292	637
7	Thailand	144	189	311	644
8	North Korea	121	161	188	470
9	Chinese Taipei	118	164	304	586
10	Uzbekistan	105	138	171	414
Totals (10 entries)		4,573	4,204	4,601	13,378

Most Valuable Player Award

The Most Valuable Player (MVP) award started at the 1998 Games in Bangkok, Thailand. For a long time, only one athlete received this award. But starting with the 2022 Games in Hangzhou, there are now separate MVP awards for men and women!

Here is a list of the MVP award winners:

Year	Athlete	NOC	Sport	Ref
1998	Koji Ito	Japan	Athletics
2002	Kosuke Kitajima	Japan	Swimming
2006	Park Tae-hwan	South Korea
2010	Lin Dan	China	Badminton
2014	Kosuke Hagino	Japan	Swimming
2018	Rikako Ikee	Japan
2022	Zhang Yufei Qin Haiyang	China

Centennial Festival

On November 8, 2012, the OCA decided to create a special event called the Asian Games Centennial Festival. This festival celebrates 100 years since the first Oriental Games (which later became the Far Eastern Championship Games). The Philippines was chosen to host this event, as they hosted the first Games 100 years ago. It was planned for November 2013 but was moved to January 2014 due to a big storm.

See Also

In Spanish: Juegos Asiáticos para niños

• Asian Beach Games
• Asian Winter Games
• Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games
• Asian Youth Games

Images for kids

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  The first Asian Games opening ceremony in New Delhi.

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  A medal from the 1974 Asian Games in Tehran.